Today marks the last day of Mental Illness Awareness Week, first recognized by Congress in 1990. The first week of October has since been used to raise awareness about mental health issues. As fall approaches, seasonal affective disorder may be one issue to look out for.

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a common mood disorder that occurs in autumn and winter. The reduced sunlight during these months causes the body to fall out of its natural rhythm. People with the disorder may feel drained, depressed, or lack interest in normal activity, among other symptoms.

Not to worry, though. These five tips may help you lose those winter blues:

• Exercise regularly. Just 30 minutes of exercise is enough to flood the brain with endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good hormones.

• Eat a balanced diet. Cutting out excess carbohydrates and saturated fats and replacing them with healthier foods can boost your metabolism and give you more energy.

• Get plenty of sunlight. Most physicians recommend getting at least 30 minutes of sunlight to boost brain chemistry. If sunlight is scarce, you might consider a form of light therapy.

• Consult your physician. There are lots of health conditions with similar symptoms as sad. SAD can be mistaken as hypothyroidism, mononucleosis, or another mental disorder.

• Consider medication. For more severe cases of SAD, medication may be needed to balance the brain’s chemical levels. Talk to your doctor about different medications and other treatment options.

According to the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI), as many as 26 percent of adults and 10 percent of children living in the U.S. are directly affected by a mental health disorder every year. Mental illness affects everyone, but it doesn’t have to wreak havoc on your life. Taking extra steps toward positive mental health can keep a smile on your face this season.

Get more information about symptoms of seasonal affective disorder (SAD), or find resources on how to make Mental Illness Awareness Week recognized in your community.

Sunshine actually may put pep in your step and improve your thinking skills. A study by the University of Alabama at Birmingham shows that the amount of sunlight you are exposed to may boost your cognitive ability.

The study examined the seasonal role and amount of sunlight exposure (referred to as insolation) on patients’ energy levels and cognitive ability. Researchers hypothesized that greater insolation would boost both energy and mental functioning.

This was found to be very true for patients with depression. Sunlight plays a huge role in the body’s circadian (daily) rhythm. Alzheimer’s, for example, has been associated with low blood flow to the cerebrum, yet another of sunlight’s effects.

Individuals who got less sun exposure were more likely to experience an irregular circadian rhythm, similar to Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), also known as seasonal depression. Several studies have been conducted in the past to examine the effect of sunlight and seasonal changes on mood in people with depression, but this was the first to study the effects of both on thought processes.

"We think some of the same physiological mechanisms that affect depression also affect cognitive function,” says Shia Kent, author of the study and doctoral candidate at the School of Public Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. “These same hormone systems have been implicated in a number of mental disorders and cognitive disorders.”

One key to this relationship lies in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN), a region of the brain responsible for processing information from the eyes and stimulating hormones.One of the SCN’s roles is to prevent the pineal gland from converting serotonin into melatonin, a hormone that triggers sleepiness.

The retina sends light information to the SCN, slowing the brain’s production of melatonin and serotonin—both associated with cognitive functioning—during the day or in a well-lit room. Without this process, the body’s natural rhythm is disrupted. Similar disruptions have been associated with sleep disorders and memory problems in otherwise healthy individuals.

Participants in the study hailed from an area of the United States known as the “stroke belt”—Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Nearly 14,500 men and women over age 45 (44% African-American, 56% white) with no history of a stroke included in the final model were questioned using the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) Study.

Cognitive functioning was measured via telephone interviews, while weight, height and blood pressure were measured in-home prior to the study. Participants were then followed for the next two weeks, while researchers measured insolation (with the help of NASA satellite and ground data) and thinking ability (using questionnaires).

Solar radiation was measured eight times daily, at 3-hour intervals. Typical insolation values were 25,000-30,000 KJ/m² in late spring and early summer, and 8,000-10,000 KJ/ m² in the central U.S. Short-term and long-term memory were measured using a six-question test. Answering four or less correctly indicated impairment. 

Based on their findings, researchers reported that low sunlight exposure was a higher likelihood of cognitive impairment for subjects with depression, including those who were prone to SAD. Roughly 18% of participants with any form of depression were classified as having impaired thinking in response to lower insolation, regardless of the season.

“This is speculation,” says Kent, “but those who have cognitive impairment could be helped with sunlight."

 

Learn more about Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) in Healia Communities.

Today is March 28^th—a time of the year when most of us consider Winter to be gone and Spring to be right around the corner. However, as we gaze out the window of our Bellevue, Washington office and watch the mix of rain and snow come down, we realize that Spring is still not quite in our grasp. Some people experience a serious mood change when the seasons change (or don’t change soon enough). This disorder is known as SAD, seasonal depression, or seasonal mood disorder.

When an individual suffers from seasonal mood disorder, they may sleep too much, have little energy, and crave sweets and starchy foods. They may also feel depressed. Though symptoms can be severe, they usually go away.

What causes SAD? According to the National Institutes of Health, it may be a lack of sunlight during winter, when the days are shorter. Seasonal mood disorder is much more common in the northern United States. Light therapy, where patients expose themselves to a special type of light for 30 minutes every day, often helps. Other treatments may include: 

• Medications
• Changes in diet
• Learning to manage stress
• Going to a sunny climate during the cold months

seasonal mood disorder SAD seasonal depression